Production of boots and shoes



Nov. 14, 1939. c. HABER ET AL 2.180234 PRODUCTION OF BOOTS AND SHOES Filed April 23, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 NOV. 14, 1939. c, H E ET AL 2.180,234

PRODUCTION OF BOOTS AND SHOES Filed April 25, 19256 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 14, 1939. I GAMER ETAL 2,180,234

PRODUCTION OF BOOTS AND SHOES fl J5 O o Hys- or by means of a pulling Patented Nov. 14, 19 39 uN 'rE s'rres 2,180,234 I PRODUCTION OF Boo'rs AND] sHoEs Christian Haber, Hechingen,

mann, Stetten,

and Ernst Haunear Heehingen, Germany Application April '23, 1936, Serial No.

In Germany May 3, 1935 3 Claims. (01. 12-145) According to the methods hitherto in use, the uppers are fitted with counters and toe puffs,

then tightly drawn over the last, either by hand over machine, and secured in front by a few tacks. The next steps comprise in any desired order the Working of the side, toe and heel by a lasting machine, a toe wiping machine and a. counter lasting machine, the wiping and nailing of the heel or toe being carried out in one operation. When "the sides have been lasted and the, toe and heel worked, pounding up takes place to level unevennesses at the toe and heel. This is usually doneby hand, though automatic pounding-up machines may be employed also.

The upper is thus moulded with respect to its stilfened portion comprising the front and rear parts on the last, and the various steps of this process require the employment of difierent working machines and of auxiliary measures, such as the use of tacks, which complicatesproduction and takes up much time. t

In contradistinction to prevailing working methods the invention proposes to finish the stiffened portions of the upper by means of a single ingeniously combined device without the help of tacks before the upper is placed on the last on which it is arranged later on to have the soles attached thereto.

For this purpose stiffening-insertions are first pasted into the unmolded upper fitted with the usual toe puff and counter. For pasting, a rapid- 1y drying adhesive like latex is preferably employed, in which the insertions requiring no working under the new process are simply immersed. 'I'henthe rear portion and the toe portion of the upper are either successively or simultaneously Worked, according to the type of deviceemployed. i The following description of the invention assumes that first the heel and then the toe of the upper is being molded.

The rear portion of the upper prepared in the manner indicated is placed over a preferably heated mold made of metal or other suitable material and corresponding to the desired inner outlines of the upper, so that heat is supplied from the inside to the portions of the upper adjacent to the mold, whereupon the rear portion is brought into proper position and lightly drawn by theoperatortowards himself. The mold carrying the upper is then introduced into' the actual working device, in which all parts of the upper, preferably byhydraulic means, are subjectedto relatively high uniform pressure by means of a collar of leather, rubber, etc, which may also be provided with a heating device so as to press the upper upon the mold and adapt it thereto; Immediately afterwards, while the upper remains on the mold, a preferably heated wiping :device begins to act for Working in the por tion of the upper projecting beyond the edge of i the mold. Du-n'ng wiping, the pressure upon the upper is continued. In contrast with the working method of known wiping devices which carry out several reciprocatory motions, wiping is effected bya single motion of this kind over the width of the projecting portion while the wipers rapidly vibrate at the rate of several thousand motions per minute. This new wiping method effectively prevents the production of superposed folds in the leather, as frequently happens at present, it being merely upset and arranged practically without creases.

After completion of the wiping operation the projecting portion previously supplied with an adhesive is compressed between the mold and the wiping means by the application of pressure vertically to the direction of operation of the wiping and by applying additional deforming pressure, and is fully levelled by the action of pressure and increased temperature, i. e., the

heel portion of the upper is brought into the proper shape which it retains. The application of additional pressure in the original shaping direction after the wiping of the projecting part is of importance for the reason that owing to the application of vertical pressure for levelling purposes a displacement. between the mold and the work occurs, whichmust be compensated for.

It is of special importance in this respect that the molding action of the relatively high pressure required both for causing the upper to cling to the outlines of the mold and for levelling the projecting portion is uniform, free from jerks and regulatable and that continuous pressure independent of the thickness of the material can be applied and maintained, even if for instance portions of the material are reinforced by ornaments, etc. These requirements are fully met in most advantageous manner by the hydraulic pressure device employed according to the invention. 1

To attain a uniform moldingaction it is of course necessary that the pressure applying leather collar, etc., of the mold carrying the work possesses corresponding outlines. According to the invention, this is insured by a novel construction of the pressing member carrying the leather collar, which consists in subdividing the surface applying the pressure into a large number of small, preferably prismatic, elements which are displaceable in their longitudinal direction independently of one another. Owing to the pressure transmitted to them by freely displaceable steel balls which make possible their relative displacement in longitudinal direction, these elements, according to the contours of the mold, are more or less displaced, i. e., to such an extent that their head portions in their entirety automatically yield an absolutely true reproduction of the outlines of the mold carrying the work.

The shaping of the toe is carried out in practically the same manner as that of the counter, the mold and the pressing means being of course adapted to the altered form of the toe. This step can follow the working of the counter or be effected simultaneously therewith if the device used is correspondingly constructed.

, The projecting portion is wiped on the sides in the manner already described with respect to the counters.

The final product of the operations carried out by a single device is an upper whose stiffened portions comprising the front and rear parts thereof have been fully worked merely by the exertion of pressure. Further finishing by pounding up, etc., or the use of tacks, clamps, and the like can be dispensed with, and the upper thus produced absolutely retains its shape.

' The uppers made according to the new method are preferably so dimensioned that they are somewhat shorter than the inserted lasts.

The finished upper is finally placed over a last which is adjustable as to length and first shortened to an extent,say, 3 cm. that the upper can be put on. w

The last is then given the proper length to stretch the upper between the firm front and rear portions. As the outlines of these portions subjected to elongation stresses are fixed and these portions cover a large part of the last, an extension of the latter causes an elongation of the lateral portions of the upper. between the toe and counter without the risk of drawing the upper so that it becomes distorted. By way of example, one form of a device for carrying out the method according to the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings without, however, restricting the invention as to the device covered thereby to the embodiment shown and described.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of the device; Fig. 2, a planof the device showing means for pressing the upper onto the mold. Fig. 3 shows a detail of the pressing device; Fig. 4 is a top view of the wiping means; Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views of the pressure unit, showing, respectively, a side view in section and a plan.

Referring to the drawing, I designates the base plate of the machine which is preferably of twin type and comprises two alternately acting working devices. On the base plate 1 four columns 6 are arranged which carry a counter pressure plate 2| inserted in U-shaped rails 23. 31 is the rear wall secured to the bars 23 and the base plate I. To the base plate I a motor 4 for driving an oil forcing pump 5 is attached whence the various driving devices are actuated including the vertical pressure cylinder 2 on the base plate I, in which to itself in the direction of adapted to the outlines and the piston 8, the piston rod 9 of which is articulated to the mold carrier l I, can be moved to and fro. The carrier H supports the presser mold l8.

In the construction according to Fig. l the hori zontally acting cylinder 3! with the piston 33 is arranged above the motor 4 or the pressure cylinder 2 on a bearing member 29 attached to the collumns 8. By means of the piston rod 34 and the cross bar 32 the piston 33 acts on the draw bars 30 which displace a connecting member l3 parallel the motion of the piston. The connecting member 13, by means of the link member l2 articulated to the mold carrier l l by the pin is and to the connecting member [3 by the pin I ia, is connected with the carrier H. In Fig. 1 the piston 33 in the cylinder 30 is shown in its extreme operating position. It is actuated like the piston B in the usual manner, i. e., on completion of its working travel the return valve is opened and reversal effected by the action of subatrnospheric pressure. The piston 33 serves for drawing the mold'with the work against the pressing device if, according to Fig. 2, the pressing device operates with a cylinder having a drawing effect.

Fig. 2 shows a construction of the actual pressing device not shown in Fig. 1. It is actuated by means of the piston 53 and having a tranverse member 5 8 firmly connected with the extension of the piston by the nut 55, and of the draw bars 5i provided with bell cranks 5!] arranged on both sides of the mold, a lateral part Ha of the threepart actual pressing member comprising the two sideparts Ha and a central part l1 being secured to each bell crank. The boxlike parts I! and I'Ia.

contain. the largest possible number of elongated prism-shaped bodies l5 which completely fill out the openings of the boxlike parts facing the mold and the heads of which cling to the outside of the leather collar 49. Behind the prisms l5 steel balls l6 of preferably about 2 mm. diameter fill the remaining portion of the inner space of the boxlike parts. The steel balls I3 are freely displaceable relative to one another and during the relative approach of the two halves of the casing transmit the pressure of the bell cranks 50 by meansof the prisms 15 to the leather collar 49 and thus to the work.

It is apparent that in this manner, independentlyof the thickness of the work and of its outlines, the pressing member is always uniformly therefore must show outlines which exert uniform pressure. In the drawings the piston is shown at its highest working point which corresponds to the pressing position of the pressing member. Reversal of the piston is effected in the usual manner, as indicated above.

To improve still more the adaptation of the prisms l5 to the contours of the work, it is advisable to provide the heads of the prisms in the top rows with the prismatic bodies and automatically adjusting themselves to the curvatures of the mold, as shown in Fig. 3.

The wiping device shown in Fig. 4 is actuated by a connecting rod 20 slidably secured to the counter pressure plate 2! and terminating in the eccentric pin 24 running in the ball bearings 48. The pin 24 carries the belt pulley 22 which, by means of a belt drive, communicates with the pulley 39 driven from the motor 4 by the disc 40.

At the other end of the connecting rod 20 links 43 are articulated by means of the bolts 43a and rotatablysecured in the wipers or pressure memsmall plates 86 flexibly disposed on atte ts 3 bers '4"! by th'e 'bo1ts43'b. The pressure members 4! are articulated to a guide slide 45, which can move on the connecting rod 20,-by means of the bolts 45a and'carry the'cam rollers 44 mov'ing in curved member 46 secured to the counter pressure plate 21. During advance'of the connecting rod 2 9 the pressure members *47 are simultaneously moved in closing-direction and pushed forwa'rd, and this motion is influenced by the course of the relation between the extent of the forward motion and that of the closing motion of the pressure members 4'! is produced. Owing to the rotation of the eccentric pin 24 at the rate of several thousand revolutions per minute, the pressure members 41 are simultaneously vibrated. In the figure the piston 26 is shown in its end position corresponding to the full opening of the pressure members 47.

Figs. 5 and 6 show in detail the construction of the drive for the pressing member with a pressure balancing device. This compensation of pressure is required for insuring the exertion of equal pressure upon both sides of the work and is effected by connecting t e two connecting rods 5i with the pressure piston 53 by means of the movable ring 60 arranged on the piston, the ring taking up any inequalities in pressure by moving bined with a check valve.

During working of the heel the machine functions as follows:

The upper fitted with the counter and stifiening insertion requiring no shaping is placed over the mold 183, and the mold carrier H is then swung into the open pressing member and pressed against the leather collar 49, either by actuating the piston 33 by means of the piston rod 34, the connecting member 32, the draw rod 30, the connecting member IS, the hinge member I 2 and the link pins I 4 and Ma in the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or by simple lever transmission from a foot lever when the piston 53 is constructed as pressure piston. The outlines of the collar 49 automatically adapt themselves to those of the mold l8 when the pressure sets in, owing to the prisms l5 contained in the casing l1 and clinging to the collar 49 and to the rearwardly disposed steel balls l6, so that the upper and the stiffening insertion contained therein is compressed between the mold l8 and the stationary casing i1. When the piston 53 is actuated, it exerts pressure during its advance by means of the cross member 54, the'draw rods 5|, the bell cranks 55 upon the casing members Ho and thus, through the medium of the steel balls l6 and the prisms I 5, upon the leather collar 49. In this way the circumferential portions of the upper are pressed between the collar 49 and the mold l8, and the upper is thus to the extent of the stiifening insertion firmly pressed around the mold l8, as indicated in Fig. 2.

By the opening of the valve for the cylinder 21 the piston 26 is then actuated and during its advance, by means of the piston rod 25, the eccentric pins 24 and the linkage connections 43, exerts pressure upon the members 41 acting upon the projecting portion of the upper, so that the cam rollers 44 are forced to travel over the curved path 46. As the members 41 are rotatably secured at 45a to the freely movable guide member 45, the latter also moves forward while the cam rollers 44 describe the curves 46, the path travelled by the cam rollers 44 being brought into the I and desired proportion ts the travel of the guide merri'ber' fl by a corresponding choice of the During its rotation; the. I

radius cr me-curves. eccentric pin 24 imparts "to the members '41 and thus to. the-material to "be worked several thousand vibrations per minute, whereby the material is wiped and during wiping lasted. When'the piston 2'6 has reached the end of it's travel, the members 4'! are fully *closedand 'them'a'teria'l p-rojecting on top beyond the mold i8 is 'wiped; .At this position of the piston the eccentric pin 24 is stopped anol thereby the wipers 4! are-stopped also. Then additional pressure is exerted by means of the piston 53 to equalize unevennesses possibly caused by the various operations, and finally the piston 8 is actuated in the cylinder and pressed up to press the wiped and lasted material between the mold I 8 and the members 41 and thereby to smoothit. The pressure of the piston 8 is taken up by the counter pressure plate The operation is pistons 8, 26, 53 and 33 are reversed. Since the machine is preferably of the twin type, one mold is alternately under pressure until the other is filled.

The wipers as well as the mold and the pressure devices are preferably heated by electric heating means, as indicated at the, as it were, ironing efiect upon the material of the upper during working.

The finished upper is then taken from the mold, placed on the first shortened last, stretched in the manner described by extending the last and finally connected with the sole. i

The invention is not limited to the embodiments shown and described, but may be varied in many ways without departing from its fundamental idea. In particular, the steel balls employed for transmitting pressure to the prisms of the pressing member may be replaced for instance by solid, liquid or gaseous means permitting free movability of the prisms, such as a container filled with liquid and having elastic walls, which fills the pressure casing behind the prismatic bodies.

We claim:

1. A process for shaping the uppers of boots and shoes having stiffening insertions and a lining adhesively connected to the upper before the application of the upper to a last which consists in firmly holding the portion of the upper to be worked upon between a mould of substantially similar shape to the last and a pressing member, applying a shaping pressure to the upper between the mould and the pressing member, wiping in the sure by rapidly vibrated inwardly closing wiping members, and smoothing the surrounding edge parts by subjecting the upper to pressure applied in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the wiping pressure.

2. A process for shaping the uppers of boots shoes having stiffening insertions and a lining adhesively connected to the upper before the application of the upper to a last which consists in firmly holding the portion of the upper to be worked upon between a mould of substantially similar shape to the last and a pressing member, applying a uniformly distributed shap- 75 now completed, and the iii l9, to improve still more I subjecting the latter to pressure applied in a direction perpendicular to the direction .of said vibrating wiping pressure, and continuing the application of the shaping pressure to the upper after the wiping of the projecting portion.

3. A process as claimed in claim 1, in which said shaping pressure for moulding the upper between the mould and the pressure member is uniformly distributed and equalized on both sides of the work.

CHRISTIAN HABER. ERNST HAUMANN. 

